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Roberto González Nieves

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His Excellency, The Most Reverend

Roberto Octavio González Nieves

O.F.M.
Archbishop of San Juan
ArchdioceseArchdiocese of San Juan
AppointedMarch 26, 1999
InstalledMay 8, 1999
PredecessorLuis Aponte Martínez
Previous post(s)
Orders
OrdinationMay 8, 1977
by Lorenzo Michele Joseph Graziano
ConsecrationOctober 3, 1988
by Bernard Francis Law, John O'Connor, and Luis Aponte Martinez
Personal details
Born (1950-06-02) June 2, 1950 (age 74)
Elizabeth, New Jersey, US
DenominationRoman Catholic
Alma mater
MottoVita per Jesum ('Life through Jesus')
Coat of armsRoberto Octavio González Nieves's coat of arms
Styles of
Roberto Octavio Gonzalez Nieves
Reference style
Spoken styleYour Excellency
Religious styleArchbishop

Roberto Octavio González Nieves OFM (born June 2, 1950) is an American Catholic prelate who has served as Archbishop of San Juan de Puerto Rico since 1999.

González previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Boston from 1988 to 1995, and as Bishop of Corpus Christi from 1997 to 1999 after two years as coadjutor. He devoted his first decade as a priest to pastoral work in the Bronx, New York City.

Biography

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Early life and education

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Roberto González was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey, on June 2, 1950, to Puerto Rican parents.[1] His father was a graduate of Seton Hall.[2] He moved with his family to San Juan and grew up in a parish staffed by Franciscans. He has described himself as "a child of the Puerto Rican diaspora, my emotional and primary homeland".[3] From 1957 to 1964 he attended Academia Santa Monica in Santurce, a district of San Juan, and then began his priestly formation at St. Joseph Seraphic Minor Seminary in Callicoon, New York, from 1964 to 1968. He graduated from Siena College in Loudonville, New York, in 1973 with a B.A. in English.[4]

González was accepted as a candidate for the Franciscans at Christ House in Lafayette, New Jersey, in 1970 and he entered the novitiate of the Order at St. Francis Friary in Brookline, Massachusetts, in 1971.[citation needed] González professed his first vows on 25 August 1974 and his solemn vows on 21 August 1976.[4]

González earned a Master of Sacred Theology degree in 1977 from the Washington Theological Coalition in Silver Spring, Maryland. He earned a master's degree in 1978 and then his doctorate in 1984, both in sociology, at Fordham University in New York City.[4] His thesis was Ecological, Ethnic and Cultural Factors of Church Practice in an Urban Roman Catholic Church.[5]

Priest

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On May 8, 1977, González was ordained a priest for the Franciscans by Lorenzo Graziano, Bishop Emeritus of San Miguel in El Salvador, himself a Franciscan. Beginning in 1982, González served at St. Pius V Parish and then from 1986 to 1988 at Holy Cross Parish, both in the Bronx.[citation needed] In 1987, New York City Mayor Ed Koch included González as one of his six appointees to the New York City Police Review Panel.[6]

Bishop

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On July 19, 1988, Pope John Paul II appointed González an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Boston and titular bishop of Ursona.[7] He received his episcopal consecration in Boston on October 3, 1988, from Cardinal Bernard Law, with two cardinals as co-consecrators: John O'Connor of New York and Luis Aponte Martínez of San Juan.[8][better source needed]

On May 16, 1995, González was appointed coadjutor bishop of the Diocese of Corpus Christi in Texas by John Paul II.[9] On April 1, 1997, he succeeded as bishop of the diocese upon the retirement of Bishop René Gracida.[10]

He served on two committees of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops: Hispanic Affairs and the Church in Latin America.[11]

Archbishop of San Juan

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On March 26, 1999, González was appointed archbishop of the Archdiocese of San Juan by John Paul II.[12] He was installed as archbishop on May 8, 1999. Attendees included the mayor of San Juan, Sila Calderón and former Governor Carlos Romero Barceló. González' retiring predecessor, Cardinal Luis Aponte Martínez, observed that the ceremony marked the first time that a Puerto Rican archbishop handed the see over to another Puerto Rican archbishop.

Almost immediately, González raised his profile across the island. In September 1999, he joined Rev. Jesse Jackson at an interfaith prayer service in East Harlem in New York City, where he preached in Spanish on themes of Puerto Rican nationalism and anti-colonialism. He distanced himself from any specific position on the legal status of Puerto Rico, but said he favored institutions that "foster the national identity of the Puerto Rican people".[13] He has articulated outspoken and often controversial views, particularly in defense of the US Navy-Vieques protests and in his denunciation of homosexuality, among other things.[14] His actions in the Vieques protests won him international notoriety, and he has been viewed as a strong Latin-American leader of the Catholic Church.

González has proclaimed his pride in being Puerto Rican, has asked the U.S. Government to work hard to preserve the national identity of Puerto Ricans, and criticized political corruption in Puerto Rico.[15]

During the spring of 2006, along with several Protestant leaders, he was instrumental in persuading Puerto Rican Governor Aníbal Acevedo Vilá, Senate President Kenneth McClintock, and House Speaker José Aponte Hernández to resolve Puerto Rico's fiscal crisis, which had sparked a two-week-long government shutdown.[16]

Apostolic visitation

In 2011, González was the target of charges that he was mismanaging the archdiocese. The Congregation for the Clergy, with the backing of the Congregation for Bishops, appointed an apostolic visitor, Archbishop Antonio Arregui Yarza of Guayaquil in Ecuador, to conduct an investigation, which he began on October 25. Archbishop Jozef Wesolowski, was eventually identified as Gonzalez' "principal and most insistent accuser".[17][18] Since becoming apostolic delegate to Puerto Rico in 2008, he had clashed repeatedly with González, particularly disturbed, according to La Stampa, by González' Puerto Rican advocacy.[19] He submitted confidential reports that included claims González had mishandled cases of priests accused of sexual abuse and sold Catholic school property without authorization.[17] González indicated he would contest, in particular, any claim that he had not properly dealt with charges of sexual abuse on the part of priests.[18]

As González awaited the results of the investigation, the bishops of Puerto Rico demonstrated their confidence in him by electing him the president of their conference in December 2012.[20] That same month he refused when pressured to resign by Vatican officials,[21] responding instead with a lengthy rebuttal in February 2013.[22] When details of the standoff became public,[23] almost a hundred Catholic organizations formed a coalition to demonstrate their solidarity with González.[20][23]

The Vatican cleared González of all the charges against him in June 2013.[19] In August, Wesolowski was removed as apostolic delegate[17] and the failure of the Vatican to credit his claims against González was thought to explain his departure.[24] Wesolowski was in fact removed because he was suspected of sexually abusing minors. After a canonical trial he was laicized in June 2014.[25]

Altar of the Homeland

In 2013, he succeeded in arranging for the remains of Puerto Rican "founding father" Ramón Power y Giralt (1775–1813) to be transferred from Spain to Puerto Rico. He worked with the Bishop of Cádiz and Ceuta to accomplish this project which had long been frustrated by political infighting and bureaucratic hurdles,[26] despite the fact that Power is recognized as a hero by all of Puerto Rico's political factions.[27] González had prepared a mausoleum chapel alongside the Cathedral of San Juan Bautista to receive the remains of Power and of Juan Alejo de Arizmendi, the first Puerto Rican bishop of San Juan,[26] but in December 2022 Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Holy See's Secretary of State, had ordered González not to proceed with the interments and to stop calling the chapel, which Gonzalez inaugurated in 2011, the altar de la patria.[20][28]

Power's remains arrived in San Juan on April 6, 2013; González called the transfer "a boost to our identity" and a moment of clarification for Puerto Rico.[29] By then González could count on support from his friend, the newly elected Pope Francis,[30] and on May 18 the Congregation for Divine Worship told him it had no objection to moving Power's remains into the cathedral.[31] On June 2, González decreed the establishment of the "Chapel of the Holy Christ of the entire Puerto Rican nation" to serve as "a privileged place dedicated to prayer for Puerto Rico, its nation, including its diaspora and all its inhabitants".[19] On June 10, 2013, the 200th anniversary of Power's death in Cádiz, his remains and those of Arizmendi were reinterred in the chapel. González said: "If this Altar of the Homeland leads us to erect an Altar of the Homeland in our hearts, then all this effort has been worth it."[32]

Other activities

Since 2013, filmmaker Richard Rossi has promoted the cause for sainthood of baseball player Roberto Clemente, a process which needs to begin in the Archdiocese of San Juan where Clemente died. Despite periodic false reports of action on the part of the Vatican or Pope Francis, the archdiocese has not confirmed that the process has begun. Rossi has said that Gonzalez "has been less passionate than Pope Francis" about Clemente's chances, but the Washington Post was unable as of 2017 to establish that the pope is aware of the case.[33][34][35] Gonzalez has not made his views known.[citation needed]

He attend both sessions of the Synod of Bishops on the Family as president of the Episcopal Conference of Puerto Rico in October 2014[36] and October 2015.[37] At the 2015 meeting, he described the current practice of divorced and remarried Catholics approaching the priest with their arms crossed to receive a blessing and called it "a manifestation of the desire of sacramental communion" in which "they humble themselves before the community by making clear to all their illegal status; as if to say: Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa!" He suggested a pastoral approach that would guide them on a "penitential journey", questioned the requirement that a spouse abandon their partner in an unsanctioned marriage, and underscored "the efficacy of the penitential sacrament as a sacrament of conversion".[38]

A close ally of Chicago's Cardinal Blase Cupich, González Nieves was reported as being behind the removal of Arecibo bishop Daniel Fernández Torres over a statement he had issued on coronavirus vaccines, as well as his decision not to send seminarians to the island's inter diocesan seminary and disagreements over a 2018 lawsuit involving the archdiocese.[39]

Honors

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González has received honorary doctorates from St. Bonaventure University (New York), Universidad Central de Bayamón (Puerto Rico), Siena College (New York), and the Graduate Theological Foundation (Puerto Rico).[40] Regis College in Massachusetts awarded him its Presidential Medal in 2000.[41] Fordham awarded him its Sapientia et Doctrina award in recognition of his contributions to Hispanic ministry in 2009.[3]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Paredes, Mario; Caulfield, Brian (May 30, 1999). "With His People: Archbishop Gonzalez goes home as head of San Juan Archdiocese". Catholic New York. Retrieved July 7, 2022.
  2. ^ Stephen, Mangione (June 5, 2019). "Lifetime Achievement Award Has Special Meaning for David Bossman". Franciscan Friars: Holy Name Province. Retrieved January 28, 2023.
  3. ^ a b Thomas, Jocelyn (October 9, 2013). "Archbishop Roberto González Marks 25 Years as Bishop". Franciscan Friars: Holy Name Province. Retrieved January 28, 2023.
  4. ^ a b c "Biografía: Roberto Octavio González Nieves, O.F.M." Archdiocese of San Juan (in Spanish). Retrieved January 27, 2023.
  5. ^ "Advanced Search". Fordham Research Commons. Retrieved January 28, 2023.
  6. ^ "From Priest to Economist: a Look at Police Panel Members". New York Times. September 5, 1987. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
  7. ^ Acta Apostolicae Sedis (PDF). Vol. LXXX. 1988. p. 1246. Retrieved January 27, 2023.
  8. ^ "Archbishop Roberto Octavio González Nieves, O.F.M." Catholic Hierarchy. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
  9. ^ Acta Apostolicae Sedis (PDF). Vol. LXXXVII. 1995. p. 596. Retrieved January 27, 2023.
  10. ^ "Bishop Roberto O. Gonzalez, OFM (1997–2000)". Diocese of Corpus Christi. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
  11. ^ "Friars Share Their Hopes for New Year". Franciscan Friars: Holy Name Province. January 20, 2021. Retrieved January 28, 2023.
  12. ^ "With His People". Catholic New York. Archived from the original on September 22, 2010. Retrieved 24 March 2013.
  13. ^ Waldman, Amy (September 19, 1999). "Prayers Turn Political on the Future of Puerto Rico". New York Times. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
  14. ^ Vidal, Jose (30 July 2012). "A Government Cannot Oblige Religions to Go Against Their Convictions (Part 1)". Zenit. Retrieved 24 March 2013.
  15. ^ Martin, Michelle. "Archbishop visits to cement bonds". Catholic New World. Retrieved 24 March 2013.
  16. ^ "Archbishop Becomes Referee". HNP Today. Archived from the original on 15 April 2013. Retrieved 24 March 2013.
  17. ^ a b c Beltramo Àlvarez, Andrés (August 22, 2013). "Puerto Rico: el arzobispo sale victorioso de pendencias". La Stampa (in Spanish). Retrieved February 13, 2023. The wrestling lasted for years but finally sanity prevailed.
  18. ^ a b "Vatican: An apostolic "inspection" visit to Puerto Rico". La Stampa. 6 November 2011. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  19. ^ a b c Beltramo Álvarez, Andrés (11 June 2013). "Puerto Rico: el Vaticano exonera al arzobispo de San Juan". La Stampa (in Italian). Retrieved 13 February 2023.
  20. ^ a b c Beltramo Álvarez, Andrés (May 19, 2013). "Puerto Rico: cierran filas por el arzobispo de San Juan" [Puerto Rico: ranks close for the Archbishop of San Juan]. La Stampa (in Spanish). Retrieved February 13, 2023.
  21. ^ Wills, Santiago (May 8, 2013). "Pope Francis' First Crisis? Defiant Archbishop Refuses to Quit". ABC News. Retrieved July 7, 2022.
  22. ^ "Crisis Puerto Rico: el arzobispo se niega a renunciar". La Stampa (in Spanish). May 4, 2013. Retrieved February 13, 2023.
  23. ^ a b Coto, Danica (9 May 2013). "Puerto Rico Catholics support archbishop". Jakarta Post. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  24. ^ "Santa Sede destituye a nuncio Wesolowski: pugna de tres años con el arzobispo de Puerto Rico provocó su salida" (in Spanish). Santo Domingo: Listín Diario. 27 August 2013. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
  25. ^ Pentin, Edward (27 June 2014). "Vatican Laicizes Archbishop Josef Wesolowski for Sex Abuse of Minors". National Catholic Register. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
  26. ^ a b "Trasladarán los restos del diputado Ramón Power y Giralt a San Juan" [The remains of deputy Ramón Power y Giralt will be transferred to San Juan]. Primera Hora (in Spanish). February 26, 2013. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
  27. ^ "Aventura postrera del diputado Power". El País (in Spanish). March 18, 2013. Retrieved February 15, 2023.
  28. ^ "Vaticano ordena a arzobispo que desista del Altar de la Patria" (in Spanish). Primera Hora. April 23, 2013. Retrieved February 15, 2023.
  29. ^ "P.Rico prepara recibimiento histórico a los restos del prócer Power y Giralt" [P.Rico prepares a historic reception for the remains of the hero Power and Giralt]. La Informatión (in Spanish). April 2, 2013. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
  30. ^ "Empeño por sacar a González Nieves le ganó el despido a representante del Papa" (in Spanish). Primera Hora. August 27, 2013. Retrieved February 15, 2023.
  31. ^ "Restos de Power y Giralt descansarán en la Catedral de San Juan". Primera Hora (in Spanish). June 5, 2013. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
  32. ^ "Power y Giralt descansa en la catedral de San Juan" (in Spanish). Primera Hora. June 11, 2013. Retrieved February 15, 2023.
  33. ^ Payne, Marissa (August 17, 2017). "Vatican dispels claim that Roberto Clemente is on his way to sainthood". Washington Post. Retrieved June 27, 2022.
  34. ^ Withiam, Hannah (August 17, 2017). "The complicated battle over Roberto Clemente's sainthood". New York Post. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
  35. ^ "No, Pope Francis did not beatify Roberto Clemente". Angelus News. Catholic News Agency. 19 August 2017. Retrieved 27 June 2022.
  36. ^ "III Assemblea Generale Straordinaria del Sinodo dei Vescovi (5-19 ottobre 2014): Elenco dei Partecipanti, 09.09.2014" (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. September 8, 2014. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
  37. ^ "XIV Assemblea Generale Ordinaria del Sinodo dei Vescovi: Elenco dei Membri e dei Sostituti eletti dagli Organismi aventi diritto ratificati dal Santo Padre Francesco in data 22 maggio 2015, 16.06.2015" (in Italian). Holy See Press Office. June 6, 2015. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
  38. ^ McElwee, Joshua J. (October 19, 2015). "Puerto Rico archbishop calls for path to Communion for remarried". National Catholic Reporter. Retrieved January 29, 2023.
  39. ^ "After Fernández firing, new bishop appointed for Puerto Rico diocese". The Pillar. September 15, 2022. Retrieved October 29, 2023.
  40. ^ "Mons. Roberto O. González Nieves, O.F.M." Conferencia Episcopal Puertorriqueña (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 January 2023.
  41. ^ "Arzobispo de Puerto Rico Recibe Condecoración Universitaria" (in Spanish). ACI Prensa. April 1, 2000. Retrieved January 29, 2023.
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Catholic Church titles
Preceded by
–
 Auxiliary Bishop of Boston
1988–1995 		Succeeded by
–
Preceded by
–
 Coadjutor Bishop of Corpus Christi
1995–1997 		Succeeded by
–
Preceded by Bishop of Corpus Christi
1997–1999 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Archbishop of San Juan
1999–present 		Succeeded by
Incumbent
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